I didn’t see the driver today, but I have a feeling. I just need confirmation.Proof. Just like I needed all those years ago when we lost our mother.
Turning to the window, where the sun has started to set, my mind goes back to Niamh’s truck. Puzzle pieces click together, but it doesn’t make me feel any better; if anything, it has dread sinking into my stomach. I just have to hope no one gets in the crossfire and the people we all care about don’t get hurt.
“Go easy,” Silas growls as we head down in the elevator the following morning. There’s no need for me to be in the hospital. After all, there’s not much to be done about bruises and broken ribs.
We make it to the lobby and are just about to leave when a loud whistle cuts through the space. Several heads whip toward the sound, including mine and Silas’s, and we spot the source of the sound a moment later. Remy leans on a pillar, a grin splitting his face.
“I get paid to be thrown off a horse,” He hollers loudly, “And you go and do it for free.”
“Remy,” Silas grunts, pinching the bridge of his nose, but I just laugh at my youngest brother, or at least try since it fucking hurts.
He closes the gap, all big grins and reckless spirit, slapping Silas on the shoulder, but he has at least somesoftness to him when it comes to me. He stops the hand coming down on me midair and winces before he pats my shoulder.
“Did you miss me?” He grins.
“Like a hole in the head,” Silas replies seriously and then pushes by him, heading for the exit.
“Glad to see you in one piece,” I tell him.
“More than you are,” He retorts, shaking his head. “Seriously?”
I shake my head. “I’ll fill you in back at the house.”
But his eyes are on the ring on my finger.
Shit. I didn’t tell him.
“Did you get fucking married!?”
“Blame pops,” I huff, walking out the doors with him.
“You mean to tell me you have a whole fucking wife?”
“I do.”
“Well, where is she?” He looks to where Silas waits,alone, by his car.
“It’s a long story,” I sigh. “Let’s just go back to Knight Falls.”
“I am so fucking confused,” Remy shakes his head, bundling into the back of Silas’s truck. “Wait! Where’s my besties!?” He demands, referring to our niece and nephew.
“At school.” Silas replies, no nonsense.
“Buzzkill man,” Remy grunts.
“We can’t all be reckless,” Silas snaps back. The two of them have always butted heads the most out of the three of us, always have since we were kids. I didn’t have time for that, so the two were left to their own devices.
We drive back to the ranch as Remy catches us up on his life on the road, the cities he has seen, the horses he has ridden. He’s always been the wild card, the one to push boundaries, the one who thinks his life doesn’t have an expiration date. They don’t call himNine Livesfor nothing, my brother rides like he has them, like the risks do not apply.
It’s why he gets on the back of horses that shouldn’t be ridden, puts his body to the limit, gets thrown about. At any point, he could be injured or killed, but he does it anyway. No one was able to talk him out of it, we couldn’t tell him no. It is what he wanted, so it’s what he did, consequences be damned. Half the time, I’m waiting to get that phone call, the one that tells me his choices have finally caught up.
I have no fucking idea how he does it. It’s not often I get thrown off a horse but yesterday was no joke, and he does that shit for fun and a paycheck.
There’s no denying he’s good at what he does; he’s world champion, has medals, and belts, and trophies, but fuck that. The pain I feel right now is almost enough to stop me from ever getting back on a horse even though this is not the first time.
“But enough about that,” Remy leans between the two front seats. “Tell me about your wife.”
Chapter 19
